Author: RowenaR

Rating: K

Category: General

Disclaimer: Stargate belongs to Gekko and… all those other people making money with it. Anyway, I don't. Honestly. So – I don't own, you don't sue. Deal?

Summary: Remember 'Show the World'? This is the piece that ties up lose ends before the next big story. Also, I love writing work-out scenes with Lorne ;)

A/N: Like I said, it's the three-chapter follow-up to Show the World, because mac pointed out that some things needed to be clarified before I start the next big PAS piece (FYI, I'm about ten chapters into this story and... it will probably turn out into a veritable monster of a story...). Consider it a Christmas present that I finally concentrate more on PAS again ;)

Anyway, as always: Not a native speaker, so please excuse any weird grammatical constructions, run-ons and typos. Feedback will earn you a cookie, flames will roast my marshmellows.

Protect and Survive VIII: Good Intentions

"Yes, I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood."

Santa Esmeralda, "Don't let me be misunderstood"

One

And it's another day of paper work… which is, as strange as it may sound, a good thing. But then again, it's no wonder he actually looks forward to paper work, seeing as his last three missions contained exploding bugs, poisonous… things and last but not least a scary kind of sexist Ancient technology and a village wedding to get him out of jail.

He sighs as he rounds the last bend before his office… and nearly stops dead in his tracks when he sees Lieutenant Simmons standing in front of it. Just for once, he thinks, just for once he would have liked a day to go by without any trouble… but he learned pretty fast that Lieutenant Simmons nearly always mean trouble.

Unfortunately Simmons has already seen him and immediately moved to attention, displaying this stiff-necked, strangely dignified composure he had become pretty acquainted with. It usually means Simmons is about to do something he doesn't want to but can't get around because it's related to his duty as an officer of the US Air Force. Well… he'll only find out what it is if he swallows the bitter pill and exchanges paper work for whatever the Lieutenant wants to talk with him about.

He resists another sigh. If the thought about passing half the day in the broom cupboard he's allowed to call his "office" didn't have that much of an appeal before – in fact, he'd been toying with the thought of packing up the files and finding a nice secluded balcony to work on them – it has now lost all of it. Putting on his business face, he walks up to Simmons who's still standing at attention.

He'd love to keep the Lieutenant standing at attention just for a moment longer, if only to amuse himself a little at the seriousness Simmons always displays. However… that would hardly be fair. And so the first thing he says is, "At ease, Lieutenant." Simmons relaxes a little and loses part of his severity, making him look less like he's trying to be someone he isn't. He clears his throat. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Bereft of the mask of military formality he hid behind only a moment ago, Simmons looks a lot more his age – a little insecure and trying to still make a good impression. "Sir… I… reconsidered the offer you made… a couple of weeks ago. I'd like to take it." Offer? Which offer… oh right. That offer.

Does he really want to do that now? Talk about Laura and he to Simmons, after all that happened only a week ago? He throws a look at the closed office door behind Simmons and the strong aversion against having to sit down in that broom closet and let himself be accused of all kinds of things by a junior officer, wells up inside of him. However… it would be all kinds of impolite and just plain stupid if he sent Simmons away now.

A thought comes to him, a memory of something regarding Simmons that went through his head a while ago… "I'm glad to hear that, Lieutenant. And I'm glad you're here since you still have an unarmed combat evaluation due." Incomprehension and wariness appear on Simmons' face. Oh well. "Go get your work out clothes. We'll meet at the gym in ten."

For a moment, Simmons is still clueless and he's just this close to add "That was an order, Lieutenant," but then things seem to register and Simmons nods. "Yes, sir." With that, he's off, obviously set on not angering his CO unnecessarily today. Seems like the kid is able to learn, he thinks with just a hint of satisfaction because part of that must be his merit as well.

Anyway, better get his own work out clothes and so he jogs back to his quarters – or is it now his and Laura's? – and hastens to get to the gym in under ten minutes, simply because he doesn't want to have his ego suffer from having been beaten by a man 10 years his junior. Involuntarily, he has to smile. Laura would have a field day now, claiming she knew he was a slave to his ego, just like every other flyboy. Which is why, of course, he will never tell her about this.

And indeed he manages it in just under ten minutes but only because he knows this part of the city inside out and knows a few short cuts. Trying a few breathing exercises Teyla once taught him on one of these missions that consist mainly of waiting he tries to get his pulse under control and stop panting. Note to self, he thinks, never let Laura see how vain he can be sometimes.

Anyway, Simmons has arrived as well and it's time to get rough. With a jerk of his head, he orders the Lieutenant into the work-out room and Simmons complies… still looking a little like he doubts his CO's sanity. Well, maybe someday he'll tell him that he's not the only one. Today though… they both simply put their stuff into a corner and get into a fighting stance.

So let's test how good the Lieutenant is with multitasking, he thinks. "So, Lieutenant… you wanted to talk?"

For a moment, Simmons looks like he'll revert back to that formal bearing of his and he uses this moment of imbalance and distraction to strike his first blow, almost hoping Simmons won't make it that easy for him. And indeed the Lieutenant blocks his blow and tries to use his momentum against him. Not bad. "Yes, sir."

He manages to unwind his hand from Simmons' grip just before he can break his equilibrium. "Anything special?" Come on, he thinks; don't make this too hard for both of us. Let's just get this over with. So far McPherson was easy compared to you.

Simmons tries his first attack, thrusting the heel of his hand upwards to try and hit his chin. "Non-frat regs, sir." Well, at least he's to the point, he has to give him that much… and turns to the side, grabs Simmons' wrist and moves to flip the Lieutenant to the ground. There's a surprising amount of resistance coming from the Lieutenant but in the end he manages to bring him to the ground. For a moment he wishes Laura would have seen this… maybe that would make her stop calling him "old man" during hand-to-hand combat practice.

The Lieutenant lies on his back and he moves to kneel beside him fast to press his forearm against Simmons' throat. "I supposed so. But I thought we already talked about that?" He gives Simmons a few more seconds to see if he can get out of this on his own…

Yep. He can. In an almost daring move, the Lieutenant rolls on his side, and rams his knees into his back. The force of that makes him take his arm away from Simmons' throat… and knocks the wind from his lungs for moment. He should probably be thankful that Laura didn't see that because she would either point out that she's right with calling him "old man" or feel compelled to get back at Simmons for that. Well, probably both.

Simmons managed to get him on his stomach and was fast enough to straddle him and push his head up with his arm against his throat now. Argh. "We did, sir. However… I think I might…" oh come on, he thinks, struggling not to struggle too much against Simmons' strangle hold; get it over with, will you? "I might have come to a reassessment of the situation, sir."

"Re… assessment, huh?" Damn, this position is becoming increasingly uncomfortable but he refuses to give up just yet. He's got years of experience ahead on this rookie and he will not give in after only a few seconds.

"Yes, sir. Certain parameters… might have changed." Certain parameters? Good God, Simmons must really be the only soldier able to talk like in tactics class while holding his CO in a choke hold.

"Right. Care to… enlighten me further?" Okay, that must have been at least 30 seconds so it must be safe to end this. It's definitely necessary to end this. "And… you may… want to let go now, Lieutenant."

Immediately, the hold at his throat ceases and the weight on his midriff is lifted. Straining not to groan or cough he rolls on his back and rubs his throat. Man, someone's been to the workout room a lot. There's a polite clearing of a throat somewhere above him. "Uh… everything okay, sir?" Yeah, right, just what he needs. A green Lieutenant asking him if he should go easy on him. Laura really would have a field day… and then challenge the Lieutenant to a match he'd never forget.

He sits up, giving his best to look totally unfazed. "Yeah." And now… the good old changing topics tactic. Works every time. After all, he got Laura to agree to marry him with that. Granted, it wasn't exactly on purpose… anyway, "You wanted to tell me which parameters changed." Maybe now the Lieutenant will help him clear up the gossip he heard in passing. Someone had said something about Simmons having been caught at making out with some IT technician by some officer or other… Laura swears she has no idea what people are talking about so he figured it could be best to ask one of the two mentioned.

Before Simmons replies, they both get up again, for another go at each other. "Right, sir. Well… uh…" he tries going with a side kick straight for the Lieutenant's chin – almost as if he wants to prove to himself that he's still as agile as ever – and only misses because Simmons is fast enough to jerk his head to the side. However, he only has to swing the leg a little further to the right to get Simmons full at the temple. He doesn't really hit him – in this kind of fight he never puts all of his strength into his kicks and blows – but it's enough to make Simmons lose his equilibrium and fall down on his side.

With a dull sound, Simmons hits the mat and hurries to get up again so as not to be trapped in a hold again. "You were saying, Lieutenant?" Come on, he thinks; show me how good you are when you have to multitask during fighting. Show me you're here for a reason.

"I was saying, sir, that I didn't assess the situation correctly." Dammit, will that man ever give him a straight answer? Obviously he's trying to make up for his recent misdemeanor and his outbursts with being overly correct and kind of… timid. With a slight annoyance he realizes that this doesn't really suit Simmons.

As if to punctuate his annoyance, he lunges at Simmons again, mimicking a motion to go for his throat with a knife, realizing that out of all the initial attacks up to now only one came from Simmons and again this is something he wants to change.

He manages to get past Simmons' defense but the Lieutenant grabs his wrist, turns him around and turns his arm so that if he had a knife in his hand now he'd be in danger of cutting his own throat. Still annoyed at the Lieutenant's evasive answers, he uses his free hand to grab Simmons' forearm around his shoulders to jerk his right hand free and throw Simmons down on the ground over his shoulder in one fluid motion. Anticipating Simmons' attempt to get away, he doesn't waste any time and straddles him, holding him firmly on the ground. "Lieutenant, let me tell you one thing: If I don't get any straight answers from you in the next ten seconds, you'll be cleaning the whole team's equipment for the next two weeks. Do I make myself clear?"

Beneath him, Simmons swallows. Then, "Crystal, sir. Sir?" He raises his eyebrows.

"What?" Simmons swallows again. Look who has finally lost his cool. It gives him an odd sense of satisfaction, maybe because it shows how young Simmons really is and because he has managed to get past the Lieutenant's stoic defenses.

"Permission to, uh, drink something?" That baffles him a little. But then he realizes that this is probably Simmons' way of telling him that he can do a lot of multitasking during fighting but that he still prefers to do the serious talk in another manner without losing face too much. He releases the Lieutenant.

"Permission granted." Both stand up and walk over to their stuff. He takes out his bottle and walks over to the window to sit down. He doesn't need a break; he just doesn't want to do this talk while standing. Simmons follows suit and for a moment it's quiet.

Then Simmons' finally takes heart. "Sir… when I came here, I… was still under the impression that this was solely a forward operating base." He nods, gesturing for Simmons to go on. "I wasn't… prepared for the fact that there were so many civilians living here and that parts of the personnel have been living here for several years… like you and Captain Cadman, for example." He nods, abstaining from pointing out that Laura has passed a lot less time than him here. "Anyway, uh… I just… I just didn't realize at first that things are different here."

He can't help smiling a little. "Happens to the best of us, Lieutenant. Actually… it happened to me." That's really some kind of admission but sometimes you have to give your subordinates a glimpse of your weaknesses to get along with them… to lead them. It's something he learned from Sheppard. Well, and somehow also from holding out on his feelings for Laura from her for so long.

It seems to work with Simmons as well, at least in a way. A little disbelieving, the Lieutenant looks at him. "It… did?"

A little resigned he sighs. "Yeah, it did. When I got here, I realized pretty fast that things were different from the SGC but I needed… I needed my time to adjust. Oh, hey, want to know what happened when I finally did?" It's a bit risky to tell Simmons of all people the story of the mission where they found Ronon but somehow he thinks deep down Simmons would love the story.

Simmons nods and says, "Uh… sure, sir," but he has the feeling that he only says it to be polite. Oh well.

"We went searching for a former member Colonel Sheppard's team and I got McKay as a partner while combing the woods. I tried to make the best of it, but you know… McKay's… McKay. Anyway, let's just say… there's a reason why Dr. McKay and I will never get along really well." And then he goes in for the kill, probing how Simmons will react. "Although, Laura says… she likes how I handle the doc." He even adds a smirk.

He half waits for Simmons to explode again or close himself off again but instead the Lieutenant blushes slightly at the mention of Laura's name and says, after clearing his throat, "About Captain Cadman… sir… I guess I… owe her an apology. Well, another."

Now that comes as a surprise. Not that the thought hadn't occurred to him before, but actually hearing it from Simmons is something completely different. He knows he should just tell Simmons that he should talk to Laura then but something in him still broods over the question whether Simmons had let slip the thing about Laura's dressing down intentionally or not. "Really? Mind telling me why?" And… wait… another?

If Simmons now told him that this isn't any of his business or that he doesn't want to talk about it… he'd understand it and let it go. He doesn't want to force the Lieutenant to talk about it, no matter how much it might seem like it. "Well… I gave her a reason for going off on me, sir. Basically… she had every right to do it." Oh, maybe he should keep Simmons from apologizing to Laura after all. She would be insufferably smug for at least a week. "The things she said… made a lot of sense. Should have listened to her, sir."

Well… if he isn't mistaken… Simmons just more or less admitted he'd done the slip of tongue thing on purpose. Damn. Why did he have to push the boy so far? Couldn't he just have been content with Simmons behaving much less like the only book he ever read was the UCMJ? Had he really wanted to know that? He sighs. "Yes, you should have." This is as far as he will go with taking action against Simmons, he has just decided. It was a very stupid thing to do for the Lieutenant, no matter if Laura had overstepped her boundaries or not – and more and more he gets the feeling she really had some very good reasons – but the Lieutenant is still young and even USAF officers are allowed to make mistakes when they're still young. "Lieutenant… I hope you learned something from this."

Simmons leans forward, his hands folded around his neck. Well… it's never easy to accept you've been an idiot. "Yes, sir. Oh, and… I'm sorry to you, sir. I… uh… I might have been… not exactly easy to get along with." That is the understatement of the year. Simmons had been tightlipped – in a way totally different from self-confident McPherson… more born out of insecurity and stubbornness – unsocial… always like a volcano ready to explode any moment.

"Damn right you are, Lieutenant." Simmons blushes again. Had he really ever been that young?

"Captain Cadman… said… she basically said I'm lucky to have you as a CO because few others would be fair and patient enough to keep me for long." She said that, huh? He wonders if Laura… saw a piece of herself in Simmons because quite frankly… he'd had to be patient with her again and again ever since nearly the first day they had both arrived in Atlantis.

"She's right, actually. I don't think you'd have lasted long under the command of… say… Major Moore or Major Teldy. Or Captain Cadman." That only serves to let the slight despair in Simmons' eyes grow more prominent and feels himself starting to feel sympathy for the Lieutenant. He sighs. "Look, Lieutenant… you're still young and I have that feeling that you're someone who wants to do everything right, for every price. And someone who's very impulsive."

Simmons shrugs his shoulders a little helplessly. "You're… you're right, sir, and I'm sorry for that. You know… the UCMJ, sir… it gave me a kind of… a lifeline. Living by the Code meant to be… in control. When I came here…" He remembers a conversation with Moore mentioning that Reece thought Simmons' biggest problem was confusion and disorientation and she'd been so fucking right. Damn, he should have seen that earlier.

He nods. "Lieutenant… there's one thing I want you to know: It's not a bad thing for an officer to be an impulsive person per se. In fact…" I'm engaged to one, he'd nearly answered but Laura and him had agreed on only sharing these news with Colonel Sheppard and Mr. Woolsey for the time being, "I live with one. I also understand that you turned to the UCMJ to try and get some order into your life. However… you might want to try learning that even these rules can't and shouldn't be applicable to every situation in life. When the UCMJ was created… Atlantis hadn't even been an idea yet. Get my drift?"

Actually… that just had been one of the hardest speeches he ever had given to anyone. Before Atlantis, before Laura… he'd often enough felt like Simmons about the UCMJ. One of the hardest lessons he had had to learn yet had been to let go a little of his complete and utter trust in the sense of military rules and regulations. Sure, often enough he'd silently – and sometimes even openly – questioned the sanity of the creators for certain rules and even bent them where he had had to but deep down he'd always harbored the hope and trust that there really was sense behind each and every rule created. He wonders if any of this shows through.

But Simmons seems to be lost in thought a little himself. He gives him another moment and then the Lieutenant comes back on his own. "Yes, sir. Yes, I think I do. Or… I'm starting to." Initially… he'd wanted to tell the Lieutenant exactly what was required of him if he wanted to stay on the team and what would happen if he wouldn't hit those marks… but somehow that quiet admission… tells him he doesn't have to. And he shouldn't, if he wants to get along with Simmons in the future.

"Well… fair enough for now. Keep working on it, though." With that he gets up. Break's been long enough, anyway.

Simmons gets up himself and nods. "Yes, sir."

"Oh, and it might be a good idea to actually go to Captain Cadman if you feel the need to apologize to her. I'm sure she'll appreciate it." Even though I'll never hear the end of it if you do, he thinks, but if it makes her happy… who is he to hold Simmons back from it? Not waiting for Simmons answer he jerks his head into the direction of the center of the room. "Now, come on, we aren't done yet with the hand-to-hand-combat evaluation yet."